and...any one have success stories or failures doing it this way? Any advice/pitfalls?

Basically I eat no flour/pasta/bread/crackers/rice etc. and no sugar - sugar free every thing.

I eat as many green leafy veggies and herbs as I want, and monitor my intake heavily but have no problem eating: Mushrooms, garlic/onion, mini bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, etc.
Steering clear of the starchy and carb heavy ones, ofcourse.

For sweets I eat sf candy, fat bombs (think that is what they are called. Coconut oil, bit of butter, sf syrup and cocoa powder, frozen) , or Sheila's hemp/choc protein powder/coconut oil candy. Almost every day I have something.

Xylitol is my sweetener of choice so far, use that iwith monks fruit in any baking.

I do have some serious gastrointestinal problems if I overindulge...

I drink 1 cup of coffee some days - with some sf syrup and hwc.
I also drink at least 64 oz water

1x a week we have family dinners and last week I allowed myself a small slice of watermelon. I feel some lower carb fruit for dessert for special family night is acceptable. 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/2 small apple as examples.

I count carbs and aim for under 20 but if its in veggies -I am sloppy with counting.
The aim is to stay in ketosis above small, daily.
I start callanetics today, walking more - but outside of chasing kids and doing housework - am sedentary.

I have 150 pounds to lose, possibly 200. I am 348 and 5'7 now. I pledged 1 year do or die, so I have fashioned something I think I can live with.

and...any one have success stories or failures doing it this way? Any advice/pitfalls?

Basically I eat no flour/pasta/bread/crackers/rice etc. and no sugar - sugar free every thing.

I eat as many green leafy veggies and herbs as I want, and monitor my intake heavily but have no problem eating: Mushrooms, garlic/onion, mini bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, etc.
Steering clear of the starchy and carb heavy ones, ofcourse.

For sweets I eat sf candy, fat bombs (think that is what they are called. Coconut oil, bit of butter, sf syrup and cocoa powder, frozen) , or Sheila's hemp/choc protein powder/coconut oil candy. Almost every day I have something.

Xylitol is my sweetener of choice so far, use that iwith monks fruit in any baking.

I do have some serious gastrointestinal problems if I overindulge...

I drink 1 cup of coffee some days - with some sf syrup and hwc.
I also drink at least 64 oz water

1x a week we have family dinners and last week I allowed myself a small slice of watermelon. I feel some lower carb fruit for dessert for special family night is acceptable. 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/2 small apple as examples.

I count carbs and aim for under 20 but if its in veggies -I am sloppy with counting.
The aim is to stay in ketosis above small, daily.
I start callanetics today, walking more - but outside of chasing kids and doing housework - am sedentary.

I have 150 pounds to lose, possibly 200. I am 348 and 5'7 now. I pledged 1 year do or die, so I have fashioned something I think I can live with.

Feedback?

How long have you been doing it?
How do you feel?
Are you seeing some results that are acceptable to you?
If the answers are more than two weeks and you feel good and good things are happening health-wise- by all means. Keep going!

If your results slow down at some point you can make little adjustments as you need to. The point is you are doing SOMETHING- so good for you!

How long have you been doing it?
How do you feel?
Are you seeing some results that are acceptable to you?
If the answers are more than two weeks and you feel good and good things are happening health-wise- by all means. Keep going!

If your results slow down at some point you can make little adjustments as you need to. The point is you are doing SOMETHING- so good for you!

Gabby

Hi Gabby Thank you!
I attempted Atkins 72 for the first time 11 days ago. I think I lasted about 24 hours on that - haha.
So this is day 11 The truth is, I just came off more of a vegan/vegetarian WOE because I am a vegetable girl.

Perhaps it is more accurate to say I am just a food girl, but really - I can give up every thing else - but not green leafy stuff. The other veggies just add variety and nutrition.
The problem with that woe was that I was constantly hungry and ate ALL.THE.TIME.

I feel pretty great overall. I have a lot of energy, but I do feel like I am very oily (skin wise) and my breath reeks, so I don't feel the most glamourous. LOL

Am I seeing results? I won't weigh until April 9th. I am hoping to have atleast dropped 8 pounds, but secretly I am hoping for 18 pounds. I do feel 'lighter' and dare I say my face looks more slender.

Here was my menu yesterday- I went light on the veggies cause Family dinner night is coming up:
B:4 ounces of stew meat and 1 coffee with hwc and sf choc syrup

Not sure I understand your question . . . . do you mean to receive advice?
Or are you asking about trackers?

I agree with previous poster's response. I think your eating plan sounds workable. Stick with it for a while before tweaking. If you have a sweet tooth, beware of artificial sweeteners . . . but that said, it the shorter run don't worry about them. They work for some of us, not for others. You can think more about that weeks or months from now.

One advantage of this way of eating is that the extra fat keeps us from being hungry.

Partyof7 - it sounds like you are doing a great job overall. While it's nice to have a plan to adhere to, many people just do a general low carb.

I'm of a couple of minds here - 1) Pick a plan, follow it to the letter until you have enough confidence to tweak - which is helpful because people can give advice according to plan requirements vs. 2) If you have something that is working, run with it. At the end of the day, you need to be eating a way that you can sustain.

The sugar candy can be a problem for people. From the veggies you are listing, you might actually be going over 20 grams per day. Tomatoes add up fast.

If I'm interpreting your question about inputting nutritional advice - are you looking for a food tracker. There is a thread here in the Main Lobby listing the food trackers that can be discussed. Quite a few people also use some not on the list - you'll need to determine what is a good fit for you, if you choose to use one.

After years of not using one, I'm becoming more of an advocate of using a food tracker because it will plainly tell you if you're eating above your limits, even if you think you're not. I found one, not on the LCF list that is highly rated and has an iPhone app so that I could integrate with my phone, computer, iPad, etc. It's stopped me short a few days when I realized I was hitting my carb and protein limit.

__________________Don't worry about momentary cheats or stumbles, focus on succeeding in the long run. Always keep your eye on the target and if you stumble, get back up and stay in the race.

What we weigh is the result of a meal, a day, a week, a month, a year of choices...

I eat real bacon, as well as pork chops and pork tenderloin, and real ground beef. You don't have to go low fat when you're eating low carb. I agree with tracking your food for now, in order to see how many grams of carbs you're actually getting in a day. If you include fat in every meal, you're less likely to get hungry. I've found that an avocado makes a great lunch. I dice it, lightly salt it, then drizzle it with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

__________________
"At the end of the day, at the end of the week, I'll only regret what I ate - not what I didn't eat." -- Linda Glein

Looks like a general lowcarb plan to me. If you feel good and are losing weight, I see nothing wrong. I assume the no seafood and lower fat meat are personal preferences? If not, you can experiment with any seafood you want and have fattier meats like beef and pork (I don't do pork myself except for cured meats, just a taste thing). Good luck!

Ocean....
I would love to hear more about your approach to low carb eating. It looks like you have had success I just cannot do Atkins "20 carbs or under"! It's just much too restrictive for me. I need to find some structure using around 30-35 carbs a day. I eat nothing with sugar in or on it; no bread, pasta, rice or flour of any kind; no root vegetables such as potatoes, beets, etc. Basically, no "bad carbs" at all. I do, however, enjoy some berries over cottage cheese once in a while (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries); I definitely rely on a few sugar-free products such as Jell-O; I do use liquid sucralose in my coffee and in a few low carb dessert recipes that I have found to be quite good and take the place of all of the things I have given up (and really don't miss!) I am not a huge water-drinker...really don't believe in the gigantic amounts that many insist you have to injest every day but I do try to stay hydrated and am really making an effort to drink more water! (I am just not a "drinker" - I don't get thirsty as a rule and forcing liquids really gags me ). I am losing very slowly but I think that is due to the fact that I am older and have probably screwed up my metabolism from years of yoyo dieting. But my feeling about all this is this...
Low carb dieting works because it definitely controls my appetite and therefore just helps me to eat way less. That in itself should, in the long term, give me a decent steady weight loss. I have given up looking for ketosis, although I have read in several places that ketosis can occur eating anywhere from 50 carbs/day or less....so to kill myself to stay under 20 seems silly. And besides, with everything else that you stop eating (all the really bad carbs)-- giving up such things as all dairy and all artificial sweeteners, etc. is just not reasonable. I don't think that would ever be a w.o.e. that I could live with. So, I am now working to experiment and develop a modified low carb diet that will encompass all of the basics such as no bread, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta, sugar, etc. and will utilize fats in such a way to help control hunger (VERY important) without going overboard and consuming sticks of butter (just for a little calorie control). I have done such a great job in breaking away from all those bad carbs but I want to be able to use the great low carb recipes that I have found (like the cauliflower/mozzarella pizza crust I tried last night) to substitute for my "old favorites". I don't think it's at all reasonable to give up everything but water, meat and butter! Good luck to all of you who are able to be this strict. I hope you reach your goal....I really do. I envy you ! But I need something just a little more liveable!

…I count carbs and aim for under 20 but if its in veggies -I am sloppy with counting.…Feedback?

Hi Po7...
I looked at your plan, and it's worked for me for nearly a decade.

I've been doing self-styled low carb for years, and it works just fine. You'd probably fit right in with our household (except I BBQ Pork Butts and we love shrimp).

I'm firm on tracking carbs daily, but I don't journal). That's so in being casual I don't leak around the edges and nudge up my daily counts (I limit it to 30 net carbs max a day, and usually come in low-to-mid 20s).

I also do not weigh (my clothes tell me what's going on). The doctor's office weighs me at my annual physical and this last time we got talking and he didn't tell me how much it was. They didn't even have me take off my coat (just the shoes), or empty my pockets.

My goal is to not have to contact Goodyear blimp division to make me clothes. I'm 65 years old, retired, and love to travel with my wife, visit grandkids, see museums, historical sites, shoot pictures, play music (I'm a guitar player) and spend enjoyable game evenings with friends.

That doesn't leave me time to obsess over food or weight. I figure I'm eating this way for life, and if I obsess over it, I'll drive everybody nuts. So I made it a routine I follow.

The only way for you to know if it's going to work is try it for a few months and see how you need to shape it to fit you even better.

A major point that has helped me sustain this…
I never talk about low carb with anyone other than my wife, and this group.

Why should other folks care how I choose to eat? Frankly, I do not think this is the way most people should eat…and my wife and I talk about it casually - as in "…what's for dinner, and are we within your count for the day if I fix this or that?" type of chat. Benefits speak for themselves...

If people ask how I lost the weight, I tell them that I pretty much don't eat sugar, or flour or starch. They usually say "Oh…that's good" and we move back to whatever we were chatting about before.

Company comes over for dinner or dessert, and I have several signature dishes I can cook that anyone can eat and love.

We go out for dinner, and I love steak, or Fajitas without the tortillas, or salad bars (the best), or open faced burger plates where I just eat the meat and side stuff. I don't know if people think I'm picky or what. I'm there to spend time with them, not talk about food.

My 104 pound sister-in-law doesn't need to eat like this to stay at her weight. And her 145 pound husband doesn't either. And I never ask about their weight…it's posted on the chart on their cupboard in the kitchen (they bike, play tennis, do aerobics, hit the gym daily and do jazzer size…pretty sure I have their control method figured out).

Somehow I think when she's sharing that she bought size 2 dresses she's not going to be impressed that my waist-line last year dropped from a 50 to a 48 inch size.

The interesting thing is they are best of friends with us! We enjoy camping, and hanging around together. We have a lot of other points in our lives which are 'common ground.'

Sounds like a good plan to me and very similar to my plan that I've been on for the past 4 yrs and I've lost more than 100 pounds on it and I'm still losing, so stick to it if it works well for you and is something you can stick to.

I've been doing the same exact thing Larry has done. I don't eat sugar, flour of any kind or starches of any kind. I eat a lot of green veggies and have never been very in to fruit.....except I do squeeze fresh lemon in my water.

I love nuts, cheese and heavy cream and none of them has stopped/stalled by weight loss. I have never journaled or kept a tracker but I do weigh a few times a week.

Very occasionally I will have a low carb tortilla to make a quesedilla with chicken, avocado and sour cream!! Yum!!

Never followed a plan....it is truly a lifestyle for me..I never discuss it with anyone anymore and it's just how I eat!

Marieze

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I've got a new attitude 12/04/06
And an even newer UPDATED attitude 9/1/2012